"Great Palace Master..."

Dragon Wood Venerable’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly lowered his head: "What do you mean?"

"Speak."

The elder, with hands behind his back, asked softly: "Swallowing Sea... what is it..."

...

...

"Deep in the North Sea, there is a very concealed Dragon Vein Cave Heaven."

"This Cave Heaven is connected to the Dragon Vein of the Imperial City of the Da Chu Dynasty. For hundreds of years, every strand of Dragon Vein Fortune flowing from the North Sea into the Imperial City has been apportioned, flowing into this Cave Heaven."

"Although it’s unclear how this Cave Heaven was formed."

"But with accumulation over nearly a millennium, the fortune within the Cave Heaven has become overwhelming."

"If someone could devour this underwater Cave Heaven and assimilate this fortune, they would certainly be able to achieve an unstoppable ultimate ascension!"

"This... is Swallowing Sea!"

The cold wind howled, in the north of Xue Country, a precipitous cliff.

Two figures stood in front of the cliff.

Chu Lin’s voice was hoarse: "This is Sun Eater Venerable’s greatest secret. In the entire Great Marsh, only two or three people know of it."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi heard this, frowned slightly, and fell into contemplation.

The wind and snow blew past.

Both their clothes were stained with blood.

This Snow Mountain was a full two thousand miles away from the Erosion Sun Swamp.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle."

Not far away.

At the mountain top of Snow Mountain, over a hundred feet away, a bonfire burned. The handsome Great Demon Cui Zhen sat before the bonfire, draped in that thin black shirt, supporting his chin with his hand, seemingly dozing off. Behind him, Ye Ling knelt, serving diligently, unhesitatingly using her Yang God body to massage the Venerable Master’s shoulders and back.

The four, having just endured a deadly battle, coexisted in such an eerie yet harmonious manner.

An invisible Primordial Energy Barrier.

Separating the inside and outside of the bonfire.

Cui Zhen knew that what Chu Lin and Xie Xuanyi were discussing was likely a classified secret, but he had no interest in eavesdropping nor would he stoop to using methods to overhear.

"The secret of Swallowing Sea, you brought it?"

Xie Xuanyi looked at Chu Lin.

"Yes."

Chu Lin was silent for a moment, then said: "It was also Mr. Jingxuan’s intention... actually, this Dragon Vein Cave Heaven was discovered by Mr. Jingxuan."

Xie Xuanyi was somewhat surprised.

Chen Jingxuan was the most talented Sky Watcher in the past thousand years, wielding the Heavenly Destiny Gold Line, could perfectly maneuver the Roundness Instrument, it was expected for him to find this Cave Heaven hidden beneath the sea.

Xie Xuanyi mainly didn’t expect...

Such important matters had been concealed by Chen all this time.

"Some matters, Mr. Jingxuan couldn’t disclose."

Chu Lin saw through Xie Xuanyi’s thoughts and smiled: "Matters are accomplished by secrecy, defeated by disclosure. To devour this Dragon Vein Cave Heaven is no easy task, Sun Eater Venerable has once ventured into the North Sea to verify the Dragon Vein Cave Heaven..."

"How did that go?"

Xie Xuanyi was slightly curious.

"With the Yang God Seventh Layer Heaven realm, Sun Eater stormed in once, but it ended in failure."

Chu Lin’s expression was solemn: "This Cave Heaven should be remnants from a Great Tribulation a millennium ago, containing extensive restrictions; without adequate realm, one cannot enter, much less devour it."

"Even the Yang God Seventh Layer Heaven can’t break through?"

Xie Xuanyi felt astonished.

"I fear only the Strongest has a chance to refine this Cave Heaven. To seize this opportunity requires at least the Ninth Heaven."

Chu Lin smiled: "This is why Sun Eater is desperately engaging in Alchemy... in his view, Swallowing Sea is a great opportunity to ascend in one step. Over the years, Erosion Sun Swamp has made considerable efforts to dissolve the outer restrictions of the Cave Heaven; the outermost Secret Realm of this Cave Heaven requires a massive blood sacrifice. Every so often, Sun Eater would dispatch trusted confidants to deliver fresh bait to the North Sea."

"The so-called trusted confidants are just you, Silver Moon, and Long Mu..."

Xie Xuanyi pondered.

"Correct."

Chu Lin nodded: "But Silver Moon and Long Mu only know that ’Swallowing Sea’ is extremely important; they are unaware of the existence of the Dragon Vein Cave Heaven."

Such a Cave Heaven is, naturally, safeguarded by Sun Eater Venerable by all means.

No one is allowed inside.

This is Sun Eater’s opportunity.

No one else should interfere.

"Actually, if it weren’t for this accident... me continuing to stay in the Great Marsh, the end would only be one."

Chu Lin looked up, somewhat self-mockingly.

He understood Sun Eater’s nature all too well.

Although, Sun Eater entrusted him with important duties over the years.

But once the Great Erosion Pill was completed, he, who knows the real secrets of the Dragon Vein Cave Heaven, would be eliminated immediately.

Sun Eater wouldn’t tolerate risks of such secrets being exposed.

Whether this Dragon Vein Cave Heaven was inadvertently discovered by Chu Lin or intentionally left as bait by Chen Jingxuan... it was all irrelevant. As long as the fortune within the Cave Heaven was genuine, Sun Eater would not abandon "Swallowing Sea"; to become the supreme ruler of this world, he must leverage this fortune to reach heaven!

Just like the Holy Empress of the past.

For the Strongest to ascend requires an exceptionally massive amount of fortune and creation.

The world is decaying.

This Dragon Vein hidden deep within the North Sea is the greatest opportunity of Sun Erosion’s life!

"Sun Erosion is already dead."

Xie Xuanyi comforted, "You should return to Da Chu... Why stay in Demon Country?"

After killing Sun Erosion.

The four of them used Cui Zhen’s teleportation array to arrive here.

"Da Chu..."

Chu Lin shook his head and said calmly, "I don’t want to go back, nor... can I go back."

He, the Sea Surfing King, truly wanted to initiate the Tide Sacrifice.

In the Da Chu Dynasty... he was a traitor, a criminal, and even killing Sun Erosion could not change the facts of the Tide Sacrifice and the chaos in Qingyang City.

Not going back is actually the best choice.

Though stripped of the Aliased Prince title by Da Chu, under Chen Jingxuan’s protection, his innocent family could still live well.

Chu Lin could imagine the scorn and criticism he would face if he headed south now.

He didn’t want to cause trouble for Chen Jingxuan.

"With me and Chen Jingxuan vouching for you, when you return to Da Chu, no one will dare say anything against you."

Xie Xuanyi spoke lightly and unhurriedly, giving assurance.

Now, in the Da Chu Dynasty, the names Xie Xuanyi and Chen Jingxuan were synonymous with Saints.

"No need."

Yet Chu Lin shook his head again, gently declining Xie Xuanyi’s proposal.

"Staying here is quite good."

Chu Lin looked back at Cui Zhen and smiled, "Didn’t you say that guy’s Heavenly Mechanism Technique is reliable... If the Heavenly Phoenix Palace can’t unveil the truth of the battle with Sun Erosion, then I want to continue to stay here, I still have unfinished tasks..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xuanyi no longer persuaded him.

He respected Chu Lin’s choice.

He was a hero who disregarded life and death.

From beginning to end.

What Chu Lin cared about was not his own life, but the country of Da Chu and a longer, grander future.

"Speaking of which..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Chu Lin pondered for a long time, then seriously asked, "How did you guess?"

What he was recalling at this moment was the scene from the previous battle.

Just a mere encounter.

At that time.

Sun Eater Venerable was on the run, Xie Xuanyi and Cui Zhen were in pursuit, one chasing, one fleeing...

He became the crucial balance that affected this battle.

Seeing him appear, Cui Zhen’s first thought was to give up the chase, thinking Sun Erosion had survived.

But Xie Xuanyi continued to draw his sword.

Such a choice had only one possibility, Xie Xuanyi guessed he would backstab Sun Erosion.

"In the battle of Lichao City, Mr. Jingxuan should have suppressed everything about me."

Chu Lin stared into Xie Xuanyi’s eyes: "I know, your relationship with Mr. Jingxuan is very good... but this matter, he shouldn’t have told you."

"Regarding your matters, Jingxuan indeed didn’t tell me anything."

Xie Xuanyi deliberately kept him in suspense, paused for a moment: "However... I wasn’t entirely in the dark."

"...?"

Chu Lin was slightly stunned, somewhat puzzled.

"Chen Jingxuan once told me more than once that he had a trusted Dark Child in the Erosion Sun Swamp."

Xie Xuanyi smiled and said, "Also, when the turmoil in Qing State ended years ago, when I visited the Book Tower, I saw a Pocket Iron Ship on the Green Jade Case enveloped by the Golden Line of the Roundness Instrument."

"Polu?"

Chu Lin spoke, not quite certain.

"Polu."

Xie Xuanyi nodded and said, "This is your ship."

"Yes... this is my ship..."

Chu Lin rubbed his forehead, digesting this information, and then couldn’t help but smile bitterly, "With just these two clues, you connected the Dark Child in the Erosion Sun Swamp with me?"

"I’m not quite the same as Chen Jingxuan."

"He holds the Heavenly Destiny Gold Line, many things he sees directly through Cause and Effect to the truth."

Xie Xuanyi pointed to his eyes and then to his chest: "But I... mostly rely on intuition."

"Intuition?"

Chu Lin felt even more incredulous.

Isn’t this just guessing?

"Perhaps it’s the innate Spiritual Sense of a Sword Cultivator."

"Or maybe... this power is related to Cause and Effect..."

Xie Xuanyi lowered his eyes and said calmly, "After Harmonization, this Spiritual Sense has grown several times stronger, during the pursuit of Sun Erosion, the guidance in my Heart Lake was as accurate as Sword Intent."

"Believe it or not, from the moment you appeared, I guessed what would happen next..."

Xie Xuanyi slightly turned his head to gaze into Chu Lin’s eyes, his tone exceptionally firm.

"I knew, you would definitely stop him!"

"And I also knew, Sun Erosion would surely die!"